[R18] The stars are brilliant, so lucky even (The stars are brilliant, the moon rises over the sea) – Chapter 33 of “The Stars Are Brilliant, How Lucky They Are (The Stars Are Brilliant·The Moon Rising Over the Sea)” [English]

Chapter 33

At this time, the friendly young businessman was standing at the street corner looking up at the sky. The fine snow falling from the sky was falling on his face and neck, making her feel cold and clammy. She felt at a loss in her heart.

Half a quarter of an hour ago, her brother Cheng Shaogong took her to the three brothers’ residence to take shelter for a while, and then ran back to Jiuzhuan Hall to inquire about the news. While Shaoshang was squatting in front of the stove, he met Fu Deng who had just packed up the arrow clusters and bow strings for Cheng Song and entered the room.

Old friends reunited and couldn’t help but start chatting.Shaoshang learned from Fu Deng that Fu Liang had followed Cheng Zhu, and Fu Deng also learned from Shaoshang that Amei had grown two inches taller.Then Fu Deng couldn’t help but ask why Shao Shang was here. After knowing the inside story, he became more and more worried.

“The Queen has never punished anyone she wanted to punish.” Fu Deng looked troubled, “I have been with my father in front of the Lord’s tent for many years. The Queen always wants to punish the young master with a stick. No matter where the young master hides, he can always find him and continue to punish him.”

Now, Shaoshang couldn’t sit still.

With her ardent encouragement, Fu Deng also sincerely described how the punishment with the rod would be carried out, how much damage it would cause, the frequency of the screams of several Master Yuan, the speed of their injuries, and their physical and mental recovery.

Fu Deng’s original intention was to let the young lady know that if she could hide for a while, she would never be able to hide forever. It was better to correct her attitude and admit her mistake sincerely than to resist stubbornly, and then the mother and daughter could reconcile.

Unexpectedly, Shaoshang’s idea was to “be lenient if he confesses, go through labor reform, be strict if he resists, and go home to celebrate the New Year.”

To be honest, she still cherishes her flesh and blood, especially if she was not beaten by Yin Chang’e, but was broken in Mrs. Xiao’s hands.She was flustered for a moment and decided to go out to avoid the limelight like she did when she was a child.

Fu Deng was shocked at first and tried to stop her. Seeing that the young lady had made up her mind, he could only escort her out.The two of them went out from the side door of Cheng Mansion. In a hurry, Fu Deng remembered to bring out two horses, but only after walking fifty or sixty feet did Shao Shang realize that this move was very bad.

First of all, she can’t ride a horse.

Secondly, she was not wearing the fur coat she wore when going out, and she was wearing the same pair of light green soft-soled embroidered flip-up shoes on her feet.

Again, it was below freezing outside and it was snowing again.

Finally, this is not the alley in my hometown – there is a wonton stall at the corner of the street, a Youdunzi stall on the side of the street, and a stinky tofu stall at the end of the street. If you walk a few more steps, there is also a video studio opened by the eldest sister.

It is now almost dusk, smoke is rising from the rooftops far and near, and there are few people on the streets. Restaurants and inns that can be used for temporary accommodation are only available in designated shops. They will not be seen everywhere on the streets like in later generations.

——She and Fu Deng looked at each other, Fu Deng was very ashamed of his poor behavior.

Shao Shang didn’t blame him. Fu Yi and Ah Zhu trained their sons to be sergeants, not the companions of the young masters.So, she hesitated, whether she should go home honestly, even if she was beaten, it would be better than a cold.

By the way, she is already used to having a maid at her side. How could she not go out without her keys and wallet in her previous life? But now, no matter it is windy, rainy or snowy, she has a maid behind her who is always busy holding an umbrella and wearing clothes to greet her.

It is really difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

Shaoshang laughed at himself and was about to surrender and go home when he heard the familiar ringing of a carriage bell…

“Cheng Shaoshang!” – and the more familiar voice of a young man.

Shao Shang looked up and saw Yuan Shen, wearing furs for a ride, leaning half out of the Yuan family’s gorgeous carriage, his snow-white face covered with a faint blush.When he saw Shao Shang, he was very happy, and then he said worriedly: “Why do you wear so little, get in the carriage quickly!”

Fu Deng hesitated slightly. He had also met Yuan Shen when he was having a banquet with his family. Although he knew he was not a bad person, after all…

Shao Shang didn’t care about this, he quickly took a few steps forward and climbed onto Yuan’s carriage. Yuan Shen smiled and stepped aside to let her in.The driver sitting at the front of the car very thoughtfully threw a felt cloak to Fu Deng. Fu Deng silently took it and put it on his body. Then he got on the horse and led another horse by the hand, slowly walking beside the car. He was worried about the little girl’s health. He still remembered how hard his mother worked to save her life a few months ago.

Shao Shang’s situation was indeed not good. This body was much thinner than she expected. In such a short period of time, she was already frozen from her fingertips to her heart.Fortunately, the carriage of a young man from an aristocratic family is not only gorgeous on the outside, but also has everything in the cabin – bookcases, tables, sheepskin wall lamps, a small brazier made of exquisitely carved ironwood, and even the walls of the carriage are covered with a layer of soft brocade velvet. Unfortunately, Shaoshang’s fingertips are frozen and cannot feel the pleasant touch.

Yuan Shen frowned and looked at her. The little girl was shivering from the cold. The fine snow on her temples was slightly damp after melting. However, because her nose was bruised and her face was swollen, it was hard to tell how her face was.

He moved his arms, wanting to put his fur on Shao Shang, but he felt it was too presumptuous. Unexpectedly, Shao Shang had already spontaneously pulled a woolen blanket spread on the wall and held it in his arms.

Yuan Shen was silent and loosened his fingers holding the fur: “Where do you want to go?”

“My mother wanted to beat me, so I hid.” Shao Shang got as close to the brazier as possible to warm himself, and said with a sad face, “Who knows, I didn’t bring anything with me, so I might as well go back.”

Yuan Shen frowned and said, “Don’t go back yet. Let’s walk for a while.” If that doesn’t work, there are several villas where he can escape, but this is not appropriate…

Shaoshang nodded quickly, she also needed to think about what to do next.

Yuan Shen picked up the iron fork next to the brazier and slowly stirred the charcoal fire: “…you did a good job with your bitter plan. Before I left the Yin Mansion, I heard that Madam Yin was unwell and did not show up at the banquet.” In fact, he specifically inquired about it.

Shao Shang finally took a breath and firmly refused: “What a cruel trick. I was young and energetic, and I couldn’t bear Madam Yin’s anger, so I lost my sense of proportion. Mr. Yuan, be careful what you say.”

Yuan Shen put down the iron fork, hesitated for a moment, and took out a wide-mouthed lacquerware wine bottle with a black bird pattern from the warm nest behind him. He thought for a moment, poured out half a cup of warm rice wine, and handed it to Shao Shang.

Shao Shang was impatient and looked cautious. He pressed the plush blanket with one hand, took the cup with the other, flipped his wrist and drank it all in one gulp.How can someone who aspires to be a girl not know how to drink?Before junior high school, she had tasted beer, rice wine, white wine, and fake wine mixed with sugar; of course, a little rice wine like this was not a problem——

“Cough…cough…” Shaoshang coughed violently, almost crying.Well, she forgot again.

Yuan Shen was angry and funny. He opened and squeezed his palms tightly, refraining from patting the girl’s back.

“…Since we know that we can injure the enemy by one thousand and lose eight hundred by ourselves, why would we resort to such a trick.” He whispered, “Of course Madam Yin was punished, but how could you escape unscathed?”

Shao Shang coughed half-dead, raised his head and sneered: “‘Escape intact’ is something that can only be said by someone who has someone to rely on. Mr. Yuan, do you think I am like that?” She didn’t believe that a master like Yuan Shen, who took one step at a time and looked at it three times, had never inquired about her situation.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Shen said calmly: “Not everyone in this world is related to his parents. Once you are born into this world, you must work hard to live a good life.”

Shao Shang felt depressed: She lived a good life, whether she was a girl or a top student, she worked hard every day in her previous life, and her future was bright, but who knew God would let her start over again!

Seeing that she was silent, Yuan Shen said warmly: “The past is in the past, and it may not be completely wrong this time. If I don’t have any problems with your Cheng family in the future, I won’t deliberately embarrass you.”

The young businessman reluctantly nodded, and then asked: “By the way, why are you at my door?” She’s house is not a market place, and the people living around her are either rich people or new civil and military officials.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Shen did not answer, but instead looked around and said, “Actually, I have something to say to you today. Originally, my mother thought about inviting the Cheng family members to come over to enjoy the plum blossoms in the next two days, but who knew…”

“Appreciating plum blossoms? Didn’t your mother never care about secular affairs?” Shaoshang Daqi said.

Mrs. Yuan is also one of the wonders in the capital.She is the concubine of a first-class feudal official. Her husband’s wife is from a wealthy family. She doesn’t know why, but she threatens to escape from the world and practice Taoism.She doesn’t see guests, doesn’t entertain guests, and doesn’t even go to palace banquets due to illness. Except for the occasional need to enter the palace to receive rewards, almost no one has the opportunity to see her. Her level of seclusion is only a little worse than that of the worldly master Yan Shenxian.

It would be an exaggeration to say that the most recent large-scale banquet held by the Yuan Mansion for foreign guests was the first-year banquet of Prince Yuan.Over the years, in addition to sporadic small family banquets for entertaining relatives and friends, even Yuan Shen’s crowning ceremony was held at the teacher’s home.

Yuan Shen said with a straight face: “There are no rules, how can I interrupt someone when they are talking to you.” Staring at Young Shang who shut up, he continued, “Originally, my mother wanted to invite your mother to come to the house for a reunion, but His Majesty is going to visit the east the next day, and he urgently summoned his teacher to accompany me, so he can only wait until I come back…” He looked at the girl’s reaction seemingly casually.

Who knows that Shaoshang has a clear mind: “Huh? If you want to go out, you can’t hold a banquet at home?… You are in charge of your home!”

She murmured in her heart: Could it be that Father Cheng’s development prospects are so good that the Yuan family also wants to make friends?At the same time, he pointed at the young man in front of him and said teasingly: “Since your mother doesn’t like to take care of things, why didn’t you get married earlier to avoid these inconveniences?”

Yuan Shen thought to himself: “There is no one here to help. When I was young, I had an aunt from the tribe who helped me prepare these things. Who would have thought that after a few years of taking care of this, the aunt from that tribe gradually became more and more ambitious. Not only did her hands and feet become unclean, she even dared to infiltrate other noble families without permission.”

After expelling his aunts from that clan, he managed the general affairs of the government by himself at a young age – it was not difficult to appoint new stewards and regulate new regulations.However, when he gradually emerged in the court and his need for social interaction became greater and greater, he realized that it was indeed inconvenient.

Yuan Shen pretended to be angry and said: “Do you think marrying a wife is about buying vegetables or picking melons? Not to mention the good relationship between the two surnames, my wife will be the clan wife of the Yuan family in Jiaodong. Naturally, she will be dignified and virtuous, showing mercy to the weak and the elderly, not to mention offering sacrifices to guests, leaders and other wives…”

Seeing the critical look on He’s face, Shao Shang cursed: Your mother is also a wife of a clan. She has been living in seclusion for more than ten years under the emperor’s feet. She is almost cultivating Taoism and becoming an immortal. Isn’t that good?But she also knew in her heart that Mrs. Yuan must have something hidden. In the past few decades, the world was in chaos, and God knows what happened.

“Okay, Mr. Yuan, you are a noble person. Your bride wants the best in the world. You can choose slowly.” she said coolly.

Yuan Shen glared at Shao Shang and said seriously: “… What’s especially important is that you must practice tolerance and distinguish right from wrong. You must not be like you, who just don’t agree with each other and draw your fists at each other! What if you turn around and beat away all the guests in the house?”

Shaoshang wanted to ridicule him at first, but then he felt something was wrong – was this teasing?

Before she could think clearly and open her mouth, she heard a loud cry of “Shao Shang, Shao Shang” coming from outside. She was slightly startled, then recognized the voice and couldn’t help blurting out: “It’s my second brother!”

Thinking that Cheng Song was chasing him, the matter at home must have come to a conclusion. Shao Shang was overjoyed and climbed out of the carriage without waiting for Yuan Shen to react.Fu Deng, who was riding next to him, also had a happy face (he really doesn’t know how to deal with a female young master who ran away from home), shouted “Second Young Master, we are here”, and stopped the driver.

Shao Shang’s feet landed firmly on the ground, he turned around and bowed to Yuan Shen who was leaning out of the carriage, and said with a smile: “Thank you, Master, for saving me, otherwise I would have frozen to death by the time my second brother came to find me!”

After saying that, he turned to leave, but Yuan Shen stopped her, took out a small white jade jar from his arms, handed it to Shao Shang, and whispered: “This is the purple jade ointment made by the pharmacist at home, you… rub it on the injured area…”

This time, without waiting for the girl to say goodbye, Yuan Shen gave a gentle command, and the driver drove away.

Shaoshang stood there blankly, holding the white jade jar in both hands, with the person’s body temperature still on it – so, in fact, he was wandering around Cheng’s house on purpose, wanting to give her medicine for her injuries and say goodbye by the way?

After a while, Cheng Song followed Fu Deng’s cry and came over.

Shao Shang turned around to look, and suddenly he smiled brightly. He thought that his brother was more reliable. It turned out that Cheng Song deliberately did not ride a horse and drove out in a small car.

“You silly girl! It’s such a cold day and you go out in such thin clothes. You might as well go home and get beaten by your mother!” Cheng Song reprimanded loudly, hating that iron could not become steel. He picked up a mink coat from Cheng Shaogong from the carriage and covered it with the young merchant. He then turned around and ordered the entourage beside the carriage, “You go look for the eldest son and the third son. I have found the young master. Please feel free to go back home.”

“Adeng, you are also stupid. You didn’t know that the young master can’t ride a horse!” Cheng Song slapped Fu Deng on the back and said curiously, “Young Shang can’t ride a horse, so how did you two get so far?”

Fu Deng moved his lips but did not dare to speak. He only glanced at his daughter-in-law.

Shao Shang put on his coat with a smile, stuffed the white jade jar into his arms, and said with a nonchalant expression: “… Not long after I left home, I met Mr. Shanjian’s driver. Mr. Shanjian was so kind that he gave me a ride… Brother Ci didn’t believe it, so he asked Aden if it was true!”

Cheng Song turned his head and Fu Deng quickly nodded in agreement.Cheng Song was puzzled: “Is Mr. Shanjian so enthusiastic?”

The young Shang put on his coat and started to climb on the carriage: “You are suspicious of people’s good intentions. What can he covet from our Cheng family? Could it be that he covets my appearance?!” She pointed at her face that was as swollen as a pig’s head, “Otherwise, you can tell everyone.”

“Forget it! It’s better not to let my mother know about this.” Cheng Song had a headache when he thought about the mother-daughter fight. There was only one tigress in his family, and he had two in his family. If he took the opportunity to tell a story and use a code, he would have a big fight.

Since Mrs. Xiao couldn’t know, it was best for the other elders not to tell. Cheng Song thought about it and decided to only tell his tight-lipped eldest brother Cheng Yong.

Shaoshang climbed up to the driver’s seat and asked flatteringly: “Second brother, now that my mother’s anger has subsided, let’s go home.”

Cheng Song ignored the question and asked, “Where did you originally want to go in the Yuan family’s car?”

“Go to Dehuifang to find a restaurant and wait and see while eating. Maybe my mother will stop beating me when she sees me running away.”

Cheng Song rolled his eyes: “Don’t worry. Mom didn’t want to hit you, this time she’s going to punish you for writing!”

Shaoshang was speechless, Director Xiao really refused to give up.She sighed: “…Okay, let’s go back and write…”

“What to write?” Who knew Cheng Song flicked his whip and drove the carriage, “Eldest brother went to Aunt Qing’s place to take a peek. Auntie prepared hundreds of wooden slips, each as big as a pottery basin, densely covered with a half-inch square grid. You must finish it within three days! You must write well, otherwise there may be other punishments!” He brothers are so big.

Shao Shang was shocked: “So many?! I can’t finish writing!” These are calligraphy, and if they can’t be written well, Mrs. Xiao will wash off the wooden slips and let her dry them to rewrite them.

“Then what should we do?” She said pitifully as she came to her brother’s side.

Cheng Song glared at her: “What else can I do? Go hide. Ask my father to persuade me first. If you stay away for a few days, my mother may be able to give you some grace!”

“Then where can we hide?”

“Wanjia!”